In the hour of sweet triumph, the Tyrolean Manuel Feller still had enough strength to swing the Swiss cowbell, which is traditionally distributed on the Stockerl in Adelboden. “It’s a dream come true. This is one of my favorite slopes, if not my favorite slope,” said the 31-year-old following his slalom coup on the Chuenisbärgli. For Feller it was the fourth World Cup success following Flachau 2021, Lenzerheide 2021 and Gurgl in November 2023.
The reward for a “brutal fight in poor visibility” is the red jersey of the leader in the discipline World Cup, which he stole from his compatriot Marco Schwarz, who seriously injured his knee.
Feller was clearly relieved following the messed up second giant slalom run on Saturday (only 27th place). “It’s great that I got it down this time,” emphasized the veteran, who was a touch two hundredths of a second ahead of the Norwegian Atle Lie McGrath in the final tally. While Feller is always a force to be reckoned with, the third man on the podium is a surprise. Dominik Raschner, an excellent parallel racer, surpassed himself with start number 35 and the fastest time in the final.
“This is definitely my greatest success – it’s fantastic that the intensive slalom training has paid off,” cheered the third-placed Tyrolean, who was second in a parallel event in Lech in 2021 and won World Championship silver in this dying format in 2023. “I found my set-up, that gives me confidence,” said Raschner.
Odermatt is unstoppable
In Adelboden things had already really taken off on Saturday. Local hero dived into a sea of Swiss flags with an outstanding giant slalom performance. It was his fourth victory in the fourth race of the season in this discipline – in a superior manner, mind you. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (Nor) was second, 1.26 seconds behind. “This enthusiasm, these emotions, this joy – all of that makes it even more special,” explained Odermatt following the Adelboden hat-trick in the “Riesen”.
Hermann Maier and Marcel Hirscher (in the slalom) had previously achieved this feat.
